thelandfandomcom-20200213-history
Red
Human male, born LY 505, in Sorret. Died 565. Grand Sorreter (545-565). Red was a fan of fantasy stories from various other worlds, including Earth. His favorite kind of stories involved mythical beings called "elementals," which controlled the four basic elements of earth, air, fire, and water (a theme which was common in the early cultures of many worlds, so it seemed). He also enjoyed stories where the ordinary people of a world controlled these elements. Naturally, he thought that it would be good for Sorreters to use magic to learn to control these elements. The first generation of Sorreters had learned from spirits how to control fire for various purposes, and the third Grand Sorreter, Jess, had developed a spell which could control earth. That left air and water, and Red took some time to consider which of the two his own talents might best be suited to developing a spell for. However, it wasn't until 539, when a young Sorreter named Mor suggested creating mythical creatures, that Red truly began to come up with any solid plans. Of course, once the spirits had told Mor and the Council of Magicks (of whom Red was already a member by this point) that such a thing might be possible, the idea became increasingly popular among many Sorreters, who were of course fans of fantasy stories from Earth. (Most people on The Land were fans of Earth stories, but few people were so devoted to such stories as Sorreters). But while Red liked Earth stories as much as anyone else, he also felt that Landians tended to concentrate too much on that one planet, to the virtual exclusion of other worlds. So he thought it would be best, before getting to the inevitable creation of creatures from Earth myths, to start with mythical creatures from some other worlds (in fact the first ever mythical creature on the Land was the lyrit, per his suggestion). He also thought, as did many Sorreters, that it would be good to create creatures which could fly, which meant obtaining living specimens of various flying animals. To facilitate this, Red reasoned that it would be helpful if Sorreters themselves could fly. Inspired by the work of former Grand Sorreter Judy, who had created the first spell devices in 399, Red began attempting to develop a spell which would enchant objects with the power of flight. His earliest success came in 542, when he created flying carpets (based on myths from Earth). Over the next few years he also enchanted wagons. The ability to fly proved most helpful in the endeavors of Mor and other Sorreters working to create mythical creatures, as well as having any number of other applications, for centuries to come. The Council considered this an incalculably important innovation, and the flight enchantment spell qualified Red to become Grand Sorreter in 545, the year after the previous Grand Sorreter died. Red went on to make significant contributions in the creation of various mythical creatures, himself, most of which had various elemental powers. See also *List of Grand Sorreters Category:People